The depiction of sexuality in mainstream cinema was at one time restricted by law and self-imposed industry standards. Films showing explicit sexual activity were, with very rare exceptions, confined to privately-distributed underground films or "porn loops". Beginning in the 1960s, however, mainstream cinema began pushing boundaries in terms of what is allowed on screen. Although the vast majority of sexual situations depicted in mainstream cinema are simulated, on rare occasions filmmakers have produced motion pictures in which actors were allowed (or instructed) to engage in some level of genuine sexual activity, up to and including sexual intercourse. The difference between these films and pornography is that, while such scenes might be considered pornographic, the main intent of these films is usually not pornographic. Despite this, the release of such films (recent examples include Vincent Gallo's The Brown Bunny and Michael Winterbottom's 9 Songs) have often been accompanied by controversy; many of these films have only been released in their uncensored form on home video and DVD, while the scenes in question are usually made widely available (legally or usually otherwise) through the Internet.

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Films with confirmed unsimulated sexual activity

The following mainstream films have scenes with real/unsimulated sex, meaning actors are filmed engaging in actual sexual intercourse or performing related sexual acts such as fellatio and cunnilingus. These scenes have been confirmed either through visual on-screen evidence, or via the actors themselves in interviews.

Caligula (1979) - Uncut version of this film includes several unsimulated sex scenes, including penetration and fellatio. None of the big-name actors involved in this Tinto Brass-directed film participate in these scenes

Emmanuelle V (1985) - Two versions of this film were released: an R-rated version and a hardcore version with several unsimulated sex scenes inserted (none of the added material feature the film's star, Monique Gabrielle).

La Pianiste (2001) (English title: The Piano Player) - 20 seconds of pornographic film in a film scene.

Irréversible (2002) - A few brief glimpses of unsimulated sex (homosexual activity at a club early in the movie, a second-worth of fellatio at a party later on). The central rape scene of the movie, however, is simulated.

Ken Park (2002) - Various sexual acts including fellatio, cunni lingus and an on screen ejaculation.

Le loup de la côte Ouest (2002) (English title: The Wolf of the West Coast) - Unknown actress performs unsimulated fellatio in an orgy club scene.

La Chatte à deux têtes (2002 (English title: Porn Theater (USA)/Glowing Eyes (International: English title) Features unsimulated male/male fellatio in several scenes, a man ejaculating onto another and anal sex. (Although the latter is filmed at such an angle it is hard to tell if it was unsimulated or not.)

Bodysong (2003) - This documentary also includes 60 seconds of X-rated material, unsimulated fellatio and penetration.

Fallo! (2003) - This Tinto Brass-directed film includes scenes of unsimulated fellatio and female genital fingering.

Rossa Venezia (2003) - This German sexploitation horror film includes several scenes of high voltage sexual content including unsimulated fellatio and penetration.

The Real Cancun (2003) - Several couples in this documentary are briefly shown from a distance and via night vision cameras having actual intercourse although nothing explicit is visible in the released version.

Georges Bataille's Story of the Eye (2004) - Contains several explicit sexual scenes, including male and female masturbation, male-male fellatio and intercourse, female-female cunnilingus and usage of a double-headed dildo, female-male fellatio and intercourse (intercourse is only visible from a distance in a mirror).

8mm 2 (2005) - The US "Unrated & Exposed" version of this sequel to the film 8mm features a scene in which the players visit the set of a pornographic film. On the set, a woman is shown performing unsimulated cunnilingus.

Kissing on the Mouth (2005) - This independent film shot on a digital camera features many scenes of heterosexual sex (most likely simulated), however contains one scene where an actor masturbates in the shower with a close up of his climax (obviously unsimulated).

Destricted (2006) - This series of short films includes scenes of unsimulated vaginal, anal and oral sex, male and female masturbation, sex with an inflatable doll, and objects inserted into an anus.

Shortbus (2006) - Several actors in Canadian film perform confirmed unsimulated intercourse and other sexual acts, including TV personality and singer Sook-Yin Lee.

Films showing unsimulated object penetration

Another variation on this theme are mainstream films in which digital or object penetration of a vagina is shown. Several of the films listed above such as Romance show this act in addition to the other unsimulated content. Films that also show some sort of penetration (as the maximum explicit content) include:

Emmanuelle (1974) - in the first film in this long-running series, a dancer is shown inserting a cigarette into her vagina and then blowing smoke out of it.

Pornographic films reedited as mainstream releases

Prior to the advent of home video, a number of hardcore pornography films were released to mainstream cinemas. In most cases, scenes of penetration were either cut out or replaced with alternate shots. One exception to this was Deep Throat, which was released uncensored.